Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has called on Germany and the other alliance states to continue supplying arms to Ukraine. “It may sound paradoxical, but military support for Ukraine is the quickest way to peace,” the Norwegian told the German Press Agency at the turn of the year. The background is that Russian President Vladimir Putin must be convinced that he will not achieve his goal of taking control of Ukraine. Then there could be a peaceful negotiated solution that would ensure Ukraine’s survival as an independent democratic state.
Stoltenberg also made it clear that he considers the recent Ukrainian attacks on military targets in Russia to be perfectly legitimate. “Every country has the right to defend itself. Ukraine too,” he said. In the case of the Ukrainian attacks, the context must also be seen. These are massive Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure aimed at depriving Ukrainian civilians of water, heating and electricity in winter.
When asked whether he thought it would be okay to provide Ukraine with medium-range missiles, Stoltenberg said there was a constant dialogue between allies and with Ukraine on specific systems. He also pointed out that NATO allies had already supplied long-range weapon systems to Ukraine in the past. These include Himars missile launchers, long-range artillery, and drones.
All developments in the live ticker:
08:04 – Ukraine repels overnight wave of drone strikes
According to the authorities, the Ukrainian air defense repelled drone attacks in and around Kyiv and in the east of the country during the night. “Russia has again aimed at our infrastructure objects,” said the military governor of the Kiev region, Oleksiy Kuleba, in his Telegram channel. According to him, the air defense shot down the drones. There was no damage.
The city administration in Kyiv also reported that the night attack was largely mild. Five drones were shot down over the capital. An administration building was partially destroyed and the windows of a residential building were damaged. There were no reports of dead or injured.
02:46 a.m. – Biden implements new budget with billions in aid for Ukraine
US President Joe Biden has signed the new annual budget and thus initiated further billions in aid for Ukraine. With his signature, Biden put the budget into effect with a total volume of 1.7 trillion dollars.
The US President, who is currently vacationing in Saint Croix in the US Virgin Islands, tweeted a photo showing him signing the law. Congress passed the new budget last week. This prevented a budget lockdown known as a shutdown. Around half of the new budget – $858 billion – is earmarked for defense.
Around 45 billion dollars (around 42 billion euros) are available for economic and military support to Ukraine. In May, Congress passed a $40 billion aid package for the country attacked by Russia.
01:49 – Britain sends metal detectors and defusing devices to Ukraine
Britain has donated more than 1,000 metal detectors and 100 bomb disposal kits to Ukraine. “Russia’s use of landmines and attack on civilian infrastructure underscores the shocking ferocity of Putin’s invasion,” British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in a statement. Manufactured by German company Vallon, the metal detectors and kits are helping Ukraine “clear land and buildings safely while reclaiming their rightful territory,” according to the Defense Ministry.
00:38 – Zelenskyy: Nationwide power outages after Russian missile attacks
According to Kiev, the massive Russian rocket attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have led to power outages in large parts of the country. “Tonight there will be power outages in most regions of Ukraine,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address. The situation is “particularly difficult” in the Kyiv region and in the capital itself, in the western region of Lviv and in the Odessa and Cherson regions in the south of the country.
With each of these missile attacks, Russia “only drives itself deeper into a dead end,” Zelensky said. “They have fewer and fewer rockets.” According to Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky, three people were killed in the rocket attacks on Thursday. Six other people, including a child, were injured.
00:00 – 15,000 missing in Ukraine since the beginning of the war
According to the Ukrainian presidential adviser Alona Verbytska, thousands of soldiers and civilians have been missing in Ukraine since the beginning of the war. “Russia has currently confirmed 3,392 Ukrainian prisoners of war, but 15,000 people are currently missing in Ukraine, including many civilians,” Verbytska told the “RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland” (RND) according to the preliminary report.
The fate of these people is completely uncertain, says the presidential adviser. Women using smartphones during a power outage in Kyiv
Source: dpa/Sergei Chuzavkov
The fate of these people is completely uncertain, says Verbytska, who works as an ombudswoman for the rights of Ukrainian soldiers. “We don’t know what happened to them. Are they also in Russian captivity, have they been abducted from Russian-occupied areas or have they perhaps been killed long ago?
This uncertainty is terrible, especially for the relatives that I take care of with my work,” explains Verbytska, who in her capacity is also an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and helps in the search for missing people.
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